You are here

With their hard-to-read minds and oft-covered emotions, teenagers can sometimes seem like closed books. But on November 10, a group of creative characters will open dialogue with this growing market through a young adult literary adventure, the second edition of YALLFest. The masterminds behind the event—including The New York Times bestselling author Margaret Stohl (Beautiful Creatures and the upcoming ICONS series) and local writer/bookstore owner Jonathan Sanchez—have planned mostly free panels, performances, and events starring nearly 50 top young adult lit authors at the American Theater and Blue Bicycle Books. And as a preface to the fest, popular fantasy fictionistas Holly Black (The Spiderwick Chronicles series) and Cassandra Clare (The Mortal Instruments series) will take the stage at Charleston Music Hall for a keynote talk about their own literary friendships.

While teen/tween series books aren’t a novel publishing concept, the excitement over sci-fi page-turners and zombie dramas has been exponentially building ever since J.K. Rowling constructed the magical world of Hogwarts. “Young adult authors are good at telling stories and getting you hooked,” Sanchez explains, noting that YALLFest’s fans appreciate being able to follow favorites in the online realm over Twitter and Facebook. “These writers create whole worlds where readers can escape.” And Charleston, with its haunting romance and historical charms, makes the perfect place to bookmark the genre.